Green Man Plus Extended to Another 240 Pedestrian Crossings

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be extending the Green Man Plus scheme to more locations island-wide from next year. By activating additional green man time at selected pedestrian crossings, senior citizens and persons with disabilities will soon find it easier to cross the roads.

This extension follows the successful pilot of the Green Man Plus scheme at five locations in October 2009. The scheme will be extended to an additional 240 pedestrian crossings at 146 locations by 1st quarter by 2013 and by 2014, a total of 500 pedestrian crossings.

Depending on the layout of the crossing, the Green Man Plus scheme allows senior citizens up to five more seconds of green man time when activated. Senior citizens can activate the Green Man Plus function by using their CEPAS-compliant senior citizen concession cards on the card readers mounted above the standard push button on the traffic light poles at these crossings. They do not need to press the push button prior to or after tapping their cards. Once activated, the red LED strip indicators at the side of the reader will light up to indicate that the green man time will be extended for the next cycle. Crossings with the Green Man Plus feature will be prominently marked.

Extension of scheme to persons with disabilities

In support of pedestrians with physical and sensory disabilities who may also need a longer time to cross the road, LTA will also extend the Green Man Plus scheme to this group to make our road network more conducive for them. LTA has been working closely with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and the Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to progressively implement this.

Similar to senior citizens, pedestrians with disabilities can activate the Green Man Plus function with the use of a dedicated card. Besides the lighted LED indicators, the new card readers will produce a sound and vibration alert to notify the user that the green man time will be extended for the next cycle.

Society of Moral Charities Executive Director, Mr Satyaprakash Tiwari said, "The extension of the Green Man Plus scheme to more locations is beneficial not only to the elderly, but also to persons with disabilities who use these traffic intersections as well. Persons with disabilities, especially those with physical and sensory impairments, could have slow gross motor skills and the longer green man duration would ensure that they have crossed the road safely."

"Extending the time for crossing the road at pedestrian crossings is a huge comfort for persons with disabilities in terms of safety. They often have to face the danger of not being able to complete the crossing on time, especially with impatient drivers," said Mr Edmund Wan, President, Handicaps Welfare Association.

More information about the enhanced card readers and how the pedestrians with disabilities can obtain the dedicated cards will be announced before the roll out of the scheme to the 240 pedestrian crossings.